When it comes to using a flip phone, Hugo Landecker might be the quickest draw in San Rafael.

Landecker, a well-known neighborhood volunteer in Gerstle Park, was walking along B Street at about 10:15 a.m. Tuesday when he saw what appeared to be a brazen daytime theft in progress. The alleged thief had just pulled out a pair of bolt cutters and was preparing to cut the cable off a bike locked to a pole near First Street.

Landecker, 75, said he approached the man and asked what he was doing. The man said he had locked the bike there two weeks ago and did not know the combination.

Within seconds, the suspect had cut the bike free, but not before Landecker whipped out his Samsung phone and snapped a closeup of the crime in progress.

"This whole thing went off in, like, 15 seconds," said Landecker, who was named San Rafael's Citizen of the Year last week by the City Council. "I think one of the biggest defenses a lot of people have is their cellphones. If it was 20 seconds later, I would've missed it."

After the suspect rode away on the bike, Landecker went into a nearby restaurant, the Depot Garden Cafe, and asked if any customers had locked a bicycle outside. It turned out the owner was restaurant patron Angelo Douvos, an old friend of Landecker's.

The San Rafael Police Department is investigating the theft, said Sgt. Carl Huber. Anyone with potential information about the suspect can call 485-3000.

Douvos, 79, valued the Bianchi hybrid bike at about $450.

"I'm a retired high school teacher," said Douvos, who taught history at San Rafael High. "I don't have a lot of money."